READER OF THE MONTH: What Ithaka means

Hey gang, here’s the first Reader of the Month for the year. A fantastic story and one guaranteed to leave a smile on your face.

My name’s Ameya and I’m 25 years old from Mumbai, India. After graduating from college as what I’d call a ‘winner rat’, I worked in the oil and gas industry where my brain cells were dying by the minute due to the utterly mundane nature of my work. There was virtually no thinking involved, and I was in a constant torpor. A chimp with a sufficient sense of responsibility could have replaced me as lead engineer on the oil rig.

One day just two months in, I was asked to sign a very expensive bond tying me down for at least a year. It was a hard time. On one hand, the money was great, and I had absolutely no clue where I’d find another job that could sustain me. On the other, every bit of of me screamed and rattled against the cage of expectations that held me captive. I was a wreck, working over 12 hours a day and suffering from insomnia. The pragmatic choice was easy: Keep the job, pocket the money and just go with the flow. How hard could it be? After all, everyone else at work was in meek surrender and urging me to follow suit.

I believe there is a spark inside each of us, but life has a way of smothering it with a multitude of pressures. Thankfully, I got lucky. Just out of the blue, I received an email from a dear friend with a link to the Zen Pencils adaptation of Cavafy’s poem Ithaka. There was a simple note with it: Life should be spent in pursuit of something greater than oneself.

The poem came unsolicited and like a magic spell. Something in me just came back to life. It was my spark.

I quietly finished the project I was working on and quit my job the following week.

I cannot imagine that happening if I didn’t receive that email from my friend and saw the Ithaka comic. I learned that the journey IS the destination, and suddenly felt an inextinguishable thirst for travel, one that lives with me today.

I initially taught high school physics in order to save money for my own Ithaka journey. With the money saved, I backpacked across South-East Asia for two and a half months: Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia. Quite simply, it was the best time of my life, and not just that, it gave me the direction in life I had always been looking for. Somewhere along the trip, I understood the full significance of the lines from the poem “May there be many a summer morning when, with what pleasure, what joy, you come into harbors seen for the first time.” During my trip it dawned on me that this was all I really wanted to do: Travel.

Today, I am running my own travel company in India with my best friend and fellow travel freak. We’re working really hard to help people travel better and are building a platform where our local tour operators can reach the global traveler community online. It’s only been a couple of months, and it’s scary running our own company, not to mention a whole lot of hard work. But we’re super-positive about the future and the message that resonates through most of the Zen Pencils comics helps us stay strong.

Oh, and guess what we named the company?

Ithaka.

Woohoo, bravo Ameya! Best of luck with your business and I’m sure you will see many more new harbours in the years to come. I’m about to fly into Japan for the first time later this week. With my lifelong interest in Samurai, anime, manga … and eating, it’s somewhere I’ve always wanted to visit. You can follow me on Instagram to see photos.
– Gav

It’s so wonderful to see you took the courage to step into the unknown!! Many of your sentiments echo my own, with so many external pressures boxing and directing our lives it would seem easier to “go with the flow” instead of following that internal spark. Keep following it and don’t give up!

Congratulations Ameya, and kudos for your courage! I wish you enormous success and happiness – it sounds like you’re well on your way already :). Are you yet able to connect with customers globally? I’d like to see some of the world myself, and all the better if we can help each other out. I’d bet I’m not the only Zen Pencils reader who feels this way either. If you have a platform for global connections, or develop one, would you post it here? I’d be there in a minute!

Hi Ameya, really cool story. Travel is also my life and after many travels I temporarily settled in Guatemala where I opened a small hostel and community center. Would love to connect with you and work together on Indian and Guatemalan travels.

That’s amazing Ameya! Big congrats! You’re story, your courage and your openness is so inspiring! I’ve been to India and I cannot wait to go back and really travel in India. Next time I’ll check out Ithaka! All the best = )

Really glad that you made this choice Ameya. Years back, I too had been given a bond to sign by a software company, right at the beginning of my career (which I loved and still love). My Dad who is a lawyer told me that I can go ahead and sign it if I wish – the document is sooo one-sided that even if I do choose to break the bond, there will be no issues for the document will not stand in court.
However, I chose not to sign. Signing it was too demeaning for my own self respect , never mind legalities and technicalities. The result was very unpleasant (temporarily) – I was very depressed, with no job I felt I am out of the playing field even before starting. However, I am so so glad that I took that decision and all other subsequent career-related decisions. Each one has made me stronger.
Ithaka is a wonderful name for a travel company. Wish you all the best.
The most fascinating journey is inside!

Three cheers to you too Gav! Its absolutely wonderful the way Zen Pencils is transforming the lives of people – speaking to them silently, deep inside.

I so resonate with the feelings having myself been stucked in the rut of life while I see the adventurous spark in me fading as the time slips off my hand. And I can’t cease to wonder in awe of that little brilliant idea in the note above where u mentioned about journey being ‘the’ destination. So happy being in such circle. Hope u keep exploring and have an enriching life. Cheers. 🙂

This is certainly the way to follow your heart, and trust it, it is never ever wrong!

And funnily enough this is what I am doing and intending to go travelling at the beginning of 2016, it just has to be done, with no real savings or plans, I have just decided that I really want to do it, and so will find a way.

A courageous story Ameya, for nothing can trap a person like the wrong kind of success, the kind that doesn’t feel right. Hope it inspires a lot of folks to venture out and find meaningful work, your future selves will thank you 🙂

Falls short to be called an exhilarating read but surely proves a point.
These days,a lot of us are getting fed up with our first jobs/campus jobs only because the reason we opt for them is to avoid walking out of the campus without a job, which isn’t what we should ideally be doing, to find our calling and work towards it. Atleast, to try.

Such an awesome story. I feel the same. So much pressure to follow suit with others but everyone’s journey is indeed different. It’s true the end goal is not the destination but rather the journey. Wish you lots of luck.

Hi Ameya. All the very best for Ithaka and for the harbours you seek. Please do let your readers know how to contact you, what travel solutions you offer, more about your organization. Cheers for a great undertaking!

Ameya’s story is so inspiring. It is just the motivation I need to work hard enough so that I can also travel the world. Keep living your dream Ameya. I should not also forget the amazing comics Gavin, they always show me the positive side of life.

Thanks Gavin and Ameya for the constant inspiration and more proof to follow your dreams and passions.

Being of Asian background (I’m Indian Malaysian) It must have been even more difficult to make that choice due to our culture’s unfortunate and narrow minded way of pigeonholing success and life options so even more inspiring for what you’re doing!

Here’s another great Indian inspirational person who’s a under 30 multi-millionaire becuase he went against the grain and followed his passions!

Hi Ameya! Bula from Fiji! I actually was doing a google search for images and when I saw that background on your selfie, I was thinking, hmmm seems like a good place to visit…so in a bid to find that place, I totally read through your story, still did not have a clue about that place…but loved your story:)) Cheers to you:))

Great Story! Simply Motivational to Pack ur bags and Kickstart what we Love Doing. Ithaka is an Awesome catchy Name to remain as Top of Mind Recall. I personally Wish “Ithaka” to Go places around the World and Engrave the Success Flag for Being Best Mates in the World of Travel with Triumph. All the Best Ameya & Rahul.

Great words ! Simply just like a Motivational to Pack ur bags and Kickstart what we Love Doing. Ithaka is really Awesome catchy Name to remain as Top of Mind Recall. I personally Wish “Ithaka” to Go places around of the World and Engrave the Success Flag for Being Best Mates in the World of Travel with Triumph.

Ameya’s story is so inspiring. It is just the motivation I need to work hard enough so that I can also travel the world. Keep living your dream Ameya. I should not also forget the amazing comics Gavin, they always show me the positive side of life.

Sometimes we may ask God for success, and He gives us physical and mental stamina. We might plead for prosperity, and we receive enlarged perspective and increased patience, or we petition for growth and are blessed with the gift of grace. He may bestow upon us conviction and confidence as we strive to achieve worthy goals.

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Regards

I blog frequently and I really appreciate your content. Your article has really peaked my interest. I am going to bookmark your website and keep checking for new details about once per week. I subscribed to your RSS feed too.
Regards